Baltic Dry Index. 853 +13 Brent Crude 59.10
LIR Gold Target in 2019: $30,000. Revised due to QE programs.
"It's like deja-vu, all over again."
Yogi Berra
Another Friday and deja vu time in the dying EUSSR. After President Obama’s Tuesday phone call to Chancellor Merkel, ordering her to not let someplace called Greece collapse, her knifeman, hardline German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, seems to be back on message with the latest attempt to get Cinderella to the 53.5 billion euro ball. He doesn’t after all, get to slit Greece’s throat on Sunday. But what, if anything, did Obama promise Germany?
With all parties backed into a corner of their own delusions, will President Obama’s Hail Mary pass succeed? I wouldn’t bet on it, this is the snake bit, “no jobs for the under 25s,” European Monetary Union after all. In this latest version of let’s make a deal, Greece has promised to tax its shipping industry, even though they have promised to sail away should they try. Did Obama proffer some kind of Greek guaranty to Germany for the 53 billion? The expedited return of some of Germany’s gold? If he did proffer a Greek guaranty, how would it be enforced? Only the NSA and GCHQ know for sure.
Below, the latest, latest, latest, late news from the never ending drama of tiny Greece.
“The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in Western Europe.”
Mikhail Gorbachev
Greece sends reform plan to EU promising new tax hikes
Thu Jul 9, 2015 9:02pm EDT
ATHENS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The Greek government sent a package of reform
proposals to its euro zone creditors on Thursday in a race to win new funds to
avert bankruptcy and will seek a parliamentary vote on Friday to endorse
immediate actions.
In the latest proposals, Greece has asked for 53.5 billion euros ($59
billion) to help cover its debts until 2018, a review of primary surplus
targets and "reprofiling" the country's long-term debt.
In turn, Athens bowed to demands to phase out tax breaks for its islands
-- cash cows for the tourism industry -- and to hike taxes on shipping
companies.
The chairman of Eurogroup finance ministers confirmed receiving the
documents but will not comment until they have been assessed by experts from
the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
U.S. stock futures jumped 1 percent in early Asian trade on the announced
measures.
Greek lawmakers will be asked on Friday to authorize the leftist
government to negotiate a list of "prior actions" it would take
before any fresh aid funds are disbursed, a key step to convince skeptical
lenders of its serious intent.
Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spent the day with his cabinet
drafting a last-ditch package of measures on which Greece's survival in the
euro zone hinges.
A further vote would be needed to turn them into law if euro zone
leaders agree at a summit on Sunday that the proposals are a basis for starting
negotiations on a three-year loan and releasing some bridging funds to keep
Greece afloat.
In a sign of possible trouble ahead, the head of Tsipras's junior
coalition ally -- which has threatened to pull the plug on the government if
the island tax breaks were scrapped -- did not add his signature to the reform
proposals. Neither did Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, who leads the
far-left flank of the ruling Syriza party.
The latest offer also included defense spending cuts, a firm timetable
for privatizing state assets such as Piraeus port and regional airports, hikes
in VAT for hotels and restaurants and slashing a top-up payment for poorer
pensioners.
Greek banks have been closed since June 29, when capital controls were
imposed and cash withdrawals rationed after the collapse of previous bailout
talks. Greece defaulted on an IMF loan repayment the following day and now
faces a critical July 20 bond redemption to the ECB of 3.49 billion euros,
which it cannot make without aid.
The country has had two bailouts worth 240 billion euros from the euro
zone and the IMF since 2010, but its economy has shrunk by a quarter,
unemployment is more than 25 percent and one in two young people is out of
work.
Germany, Athens biggest creditor, meanwhile made a small concession by
acknowledging that Greece will need some debt restructuring as part of the new
program to make its public finances viable in the medium-term.
The admission by hardline German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
came hours before the midnight deadline for Athens to submit its reform plan.
More.Greece Seeks $59.2 Billion Bailout in Effort to Keep Euro
Will it work?
July 9, 2015 — 8:23 PM BST Updated on July 10, 2015 — 12:53 AM BST
In exchange, it offered a package of reforms and spending cuts, including pension savings and tax increases, similar to the one presented by creditors last month. The proposal was submitted to European institutions late Thursday and will be presented to the Greek Parliament Friday. It is set to be discussed at a summit of European Union leaders Sunday to determine whether Greece gets a new bailout, or be forced to leave the single currency.
Greece offered measures that almost mirrored a proposal from creditors on June 26, which was rejected by voters in a July 5 referendum. In return, it asked for its long-term debt to be made more manageable to allow it to rebound from a crisis that has erased a quarter of its economy. It is unclear if the proposal is enough to clinch a deal with creditors amid signs of economic deterioration since banks were closed and capital controls imposed 12 days ago.
“The Greeks appear to have made significant concessions, apparently accepting much of the most recent creditor proposal,” Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets in London, wrote in a note. “It remains to be seen whether creditors will want even more austerity.”
U.S. and Japanese index futures climbed with the euro after Greece’s proposal. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.9 percent to 2,059.25 by 7:44 a.m. in Tokyo, while contracts on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1 percent in Chicago. The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1063.
The Greek government said it would use the three-year loan from the European Stability Mechanism to cover debt repayments between 2015 and 2018, mostly to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. It will then be left with debt owed only to European Union institutions.
More
Greece finally admits €2bn gas pipeline deal with Russia
Closer ties between Athens and Moscow is likely to worry the US, which has stepped up its involvement in Greece's debt crisis
Greece has admitted for the first time it is planning a €2bn gas pipeline with Russia.The move is likely to worry the US, which has stepped up its involvement in Greece's debt talks with international creditors over fears the cash-strapped country could drop out of the single currency and come under the influence of its Cold War rival.
Panayotis Lafazanis, Greece's energy minister, said the move would be a key part of the country's "multi-faceted" foreign policy and would create 20,000 jobs, the Financial Times reported.
Figures released by Greece’s National Statistics Service on Thursday showed unemployment at 25.6pc in April.
Reports in April suggested Moscow was ready to provide advanced payment to Greece for the "Turkish Stream" pipeline project, which will transport 47bn cubic metres of Gazprom's gas annually from 2018.
Those reports were quickly denied by the Kremlin, depite Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visiting Russia to hold talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
During that visit to the Kremlin, Mr Tsipras insisted Greece was a “sovereign nation with the indelible right to carry out its own foreign policy”.
Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, has previously said he had no objection to any deal with Moscow, but that ultimately it would not "fix Greece's reform problems".
Beijing has also sought to invest in Greece's port infrastructure.
Mr Lafazanis, who heads up the Left Platform of Syriza, has hailed a new dawn in Greco-Russia relations and has invited the likes of state-sponsored Gazprom to drill for oil off the Greek coast.
It comes amid reports Greece's European creditors are willing to give the country debt relief, following its default on loans to the IMF last month.
China stock market surges in volatile session
The Shanghai Composite index reversed earlier losses to close up 5.76%, its biggest percentage gain since 2009.
A move to ban big investors from selling stocks may have helped to support the market, analysts said.
Meanwhile, the state-run news agency Xinhua said police were investigating "vicious short-selling" on the country's stock market.
Xinhua said authorities would "crack down" on operations that had broken the laws and regulations related to trading.
The benchmark Shanghai index closed up 202.14 points at 3,709.33.
China's market regulator has introduced a string of new rules in the past week to try to relieve pressure on Chinese shares. The Shanghai Composite has fallen by more than 30% since mid-June.
On Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite fell as much as 8.2%, leading some analysts to describe the session as 'Black Wednesday'.
In the latest efforts to try and stem the falling markets, Beijing has relaxed lending rules - making it easier for people to borrow money for investment - in the hope that they will buy more stocks. That follows a move late on Wednesday to ban investors holding stakes of more than 5% in companies from selling shares in the next six months.
Meanwhile, about 1,300 firms have halted trading in their stocks to prevent the value of their businesses falling further.
Analysis: John Sudworth, BBC News, Shanghai
The latest measure to be unveiled by the Chinese regulator is a ban on
investors who hold more than 5% of any stock from selling it for six months.
It is an extraordinary restriction, but coupled with all the other
government-backed efforts to shore up prices in the face of China's massive
slump, it may have finally brought some stability.
That said, around half of all listed companies have voluntarily
suspended trading, so it could be argued that the market is, in effect, as much
seizing up as it is stabilising.
Analysts are divided over the extent to which the dramatic unwinding of
China's massive lending-fuelled stock market boom poses a threat to the wider
economy.
"Gold would have value if for no other reason than that it enables a citizen to fashion his financial escape from the state."
William F. Rickenbacker
At the Comex silver depositories
Thursday final figures were: Registered 58.96 Moz, Eligible 121.92 Moz, Total
180.88 Moz.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally
doubled over.
Presented with little comment. Why should the IMF
get this call right?
IMF Cuts World Growth Outlook
July 9, 2015
— 2:00 PM BST
The IMF cut its forecast for global growth this year, citing a weaker first
quarter in the U.S. and warning that financial-market turbulence from China to
Greece clouds the outlook.The world economy will grow 3.3 percent in 2015, less than the 3.5 percent pace projected in April and slower than the 3.4 percent expansion last year, the International Monetary Fund said in revisions to its World Economic Outlook released Thursday in Washington. The fund left its forecast for growth next year unchanged at 3.8 percent.
While the IMF left its 2015 projections for China and the euro area unchanged from April, it singled out both economies as areas sources of potential risk. Chinese stocks have tumbled in recent weeks and Greece is struggling to reach a deal with European creditors to stay in the euro area.
“Disruptive asset price shifts and a further increase in financial market volatility remain an important downside risk,” the fund said in the report.
Much of the global downgrade was driven by the U.S., which the fund now sees growing 2.5 percent this year, compared with 3.1 percent in April. The IMF this week reiterated its recommendation that the Federal Reserve hold off raising interest rates until the first half of next year, when wage and price inflation are expected to pick up.
More
"For
more than two thousand years gold's natural qualities made it man's universal
medium of exchange. In contrast to political money, gold is honest money that
survived the ages and will live on long after the political fiats of today have
gone the way of all paper." Hans F. Sennholz
Solar & Related Update.
With events
happening fast in the development of solar power, I’ve added this new section.
Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC energy
mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards? A quantum computer
next?
GKN Partners with Alexander Dennis to Accelerate Introduction of Low Carbon Bus Fleets
24/11/2014 10:00
In an
important step towards affordable, low emission buses, GKN plc and Alexander
Dennis Limited (ADL) have signed a deal that will see the introduction of 250 greener,
cleaner vehicles to transport fleets across the UK during the next two years.
As part of
the agreement ADL – Britain’s biggest bus and coach manufacturer – has
chosen GKN
Hybrid Power as a preferred partner and committed to the purchase of 250
of its leading-edge Gyrodrive electric flywheel systems.
ADL will
focus initially on the introduction of the low emission technology to bus
fleets in London and Oxford but anticipates rapid deployment across the UK in
the next few years. It will also be working closely with GKN to develop the
technology for international markets.
The
Gyrodrive system uses a high speed flywheel made of carbon fibre to store the
energy generated by a bus as it slows down to stop. It then utilises the stored
energy to power a GKN EVO electric motor which helps accelerate the bus back up
to speed, generating significant fuel savings at a considerably lower cost than
battery hybrid alternatives.
ADL’s Euro6
Enviro400 bus, the UK’s best-selling double deck – fitted with the Gyrodrive
system - recently achieved Low Carbon Emission Bus Certification, which
acknowledges a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and entitles operators
to enhanced fuel rebates.
The
Gyrodrive system is designed to last for the life of the bus eliminating the
need for any battery changes and offering much lower whole-life costs than
other hybrid alternatives, making it a truly viable proposition commercially.
Based on
Formula One race technology developed in the UK, the innovative GKN system will
help increase the efficiency of every bus to which it is fitted by using less
fuel and therefore reducing carbon emissions. This same technology helped
Audi’s R18 e-tron win at Le Mans in June, Audi’s third
consecutive win with GKN’s flywheel.
Earlier this
year transport operator Go-Ahead Group selected GKN to supply 500 systems for
use on buses in cities across the UK following successful trials in
London.
----- GKN
Hybrid Power is based in Oxfordshire, with final assembly taking place in a new
facility at GKN’s site in Telford. The Gyrodrive technology is being further
developed for other mass transit markets including trams, construction and
agricultural equipment. Earlier this year GKN announced the acquisition
of Williams Hybrid Power from Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited to form
GKN Hybrid Power, which is focused on delivering complete hybrid solutions
across multiple vehicle, power and industrial markets.
More
Innovation with style
Innovation with style is a hallmark of Alexander Dennis products. The business has a well founded reputation for innovation that provides maximum operator benefit.Pioneers of both the low floor double deck and midibus concepts, ADL is the only bus manufacturer in the world with a range of single deck, two-axle and three-axle double deck hybrid buses. Genuine breakthrough technology already achieving significant fuel and CO2 savings without compromising durability and operator availability.
Breakthrough technology combined with breakthrough styling and interior packaging.
A complete range of instantly recognisable buses with real street presence and unique interior layouts offering more space, more comfort and more seats.
Download the Enviro Hybrid range brochure
Download the Virtual Electric Brochure
Another weekend, and the final, final-act of the Greek
drama. Why did the Greeks bother voting last Sunday? Even for the EUSSR,
reversing and trashing a democratic vote in just a week is quite something! But
who wants to be a mere plaything serf to the elite in Berlin and Brussels.
Brexit advances in leaps and bounds. Have a great weekend everyone. Euros anyone?
"The paper standard is self-destructive."
Hans F. Sennholz
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished June
DJIA: +98 Down. NASDAQ:
+192 Down. SP500: +127 Down.
No comments:
Post a Comment